Govt would no longer tolerate delays in contract execution

Kumasi, May 15, GNA- The government has warned that it would no longer tolerate the continued lack of performance by contractors, especially those in the road construction sector.

This is to ensure that the huge investment made in the sector did not go down the drain.

Mr Emmanuel Asamoah Owusu-Ansah, Ashanti Regional Minister, who gave the warning, said government would take appropriate measures to protect the heavy investments not only in the road sector, but also in all other sectors of the economy to help improve the living conditions of the people throughout the country.

He was speaking at the launch of the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) fund and Association of Road Contractors (ASROC) advocacy project in Kumasi on Thursday.

The BUSAC/ASROC advocacy project is an initiative of the road contractors to do thorough research on issues militating against the early issuance of payment certificates and come out with modalities that would help lead to influencing the relevant institutions and personnel involved in the signing and payment of certificates.

It would also devise ways and means to shorten the tedious and sometimes frustrating processes for payment of certificates to contractors.

Mr Owusu-Ansah said government was conscious of investments from its own resources as well as those from its foreign development partners and would therefore, like to justify the confidence reposed in it by its foreign partners.

He said the Ashanti Regional Co-ordinating Council had had cause to complain about the performance of some road contractors, adding that, some of them had been disappointing.

These contractors, according to him, bring the name of the association into disrepute and urged the leadership of the association to employ its internal disciplinary mechanisms to bring such contractors to book.

Mr Owusu-Ansah commended the association and BUSAC for the initiative and said when the objectives of the project were achieved and contractors paid promptly, they would have no excuse for producing shoddy works or for delaying in the execution of projects. Mr Twumasi Mensah, National President of the Association, said the aim of the project was to come out with a scientific statistics to remove the frustrations and challenges contractors faced before certificates were paid and the findings sent to the sector Ministry for redress.

He pointed out that, currently it took about 47 or more people to sign a certificate for payment and said that contributed to the delay in the execution of road works in the country.